Historical-archaeology in the ancient claustro del noviciado, present-day Casa de la columna, of Santo Domingo convent in Lima

Abstract

This article is a summary of the archaeological excavations carried out inside the old cloister of the «Convent of Santo Domingo de Lima», known today as «La Casa de la Columna», and located on the second block of the Calle Conde Superunda. These excavations were part of a multidisciplinary project whose main objective was to restore, and in some cases consolidate, the original structures that were part of the old convent (i.e., the cloister’s archway and entrance). Today La Casa de la Columna is a densely populated habitation with more than 200 residents. After this cloister was turned into a tenement house towards the second half of century XIX, the former priests’ cells came to house several people including whole families who altered the place’s original appearance little by little over time. These changes involve the addition of elements characteristic of the lifestyle of the inhabitants’ new society, which are quite different from those of the place’s previous religious function.